Playgrounds once again shut down by Winnipeg School Division

All playgrounds on Winnipeg School Division property are off limits to the public once again.

As of May 14, the division has banned use of the structures by anyone other than students, who may only use them during normal school hours.

Notices have been taped to all play structures, explaining that once the school dayis done, they are also closed to students.

The order will remain in place for the duration of the remote learning period, which isscheduled to last at least until May 30.

The province moved all kindergarten to Grade 12 students in Winnipeg and Brandonto remote learning lastWednesday in an effort to curb Manitoba's surgingthird wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students in two southern Manitoba school divisions will join themstarting Tuesday.That will affect all 14 schools inthe Winkler-area Garden Valley School Divisionand all 13in the Red River Valley School Division, Education Minister Cliff Cullen said Saturday.

Some students continue to attend in-school classes, however. Childrenofcritical service workers, includinghealth-care workers,teachers, law enforcement members and firefighters,can still attend.

Playground closures arebeing made for the safety of students both in-school and remote learners in response to increased use by community members during school hours, the Winnipeg School Division said.

A news release from the division saysit recognizes that outdoor play is one of the few pleasures families have at this time, but there's been a significant increase in people congregating at theplaygrounds both during and after school hours.

That defeats thepurpose of moving to remote learning under the code redor critical levelof the province's pandemic response system, which isintended todisrupt the opportunity for the coronavirus to transmitamong students and staff in any school setting, the division said in the release.

This is the second time during the pandemic that schools have closed off playgrounds.

In March 2020, school divisions posted signs and removedswings at playgrounds for the same reason. They were later reopened as case counts began to subside.

Manitoba's Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussinwas asked Monday if the WSD's approach wasan effective measure to combat the transmission of the virus, or if it's unnecessarily removing alow-risk activity for parents and theirkids.

"A lot of these are difficult decisions. Certainly, outdoor contact is certainly safer [but] notwithout its risks," he said.

"Right now, our message is to mostly stay hometo try to reduce those contacts outside the household. We know that a lot of these activities, while the activity itself might be lower risk, there's a lot of things that go into into that: people and parents gathering at the at the site.

"The balance is difficult [and]I think everyone's just trying to do do their part to try to bring down these numbers. We'reat a critical stage here."